Abed Nadir
Bio Abed Nadir (portrayed by Danny Pudi) is a student at Greendale Community College, so he can one day take over his father's falafel restaurant. Abed had a difficult life growing up, due in part to his parents. His father is a Palestinian from Gaza and his mother Polish American, which was a source of cultural discord. On top of that, Abed's undiagnosed psychological condition also put more strain on the relationship. His mother left his family when he was 6 years old and Abed assumed his father blamed him for it. This created distance between them and resulted in Abed alienating himself further by immersing himself in American pop-culture. Personality It is hinted that Abed has Asperger's syndrome due to his inability to pick up on social or emotional cues ("Pilot"). Despite this, Abed is quite intelligent, is fluent in three languages (English, Polish and Arabic) and possesses keen observational skills. He often accurately predicts other people's behaviours ("Debate 109") although it's shown he is not infallable ("Virtual Systems Analysis"). He'll often draw connections to real life situations through pop culture and meta references gained through years of watching TV and movies ("Pilot"). However, he still has problems understanding certain emotions and has a particular difficulty with sarcasm ("Accounting for Lawyers"). He is also surprisingly athletic ("The Politics of Human Sexuality"), a skilled dancer ("Interpretive Dance"), and a good singer/rapper ("Somewhere Out There", "Spanish Rap"). Besides his love of Filmmaking, Abed also likes to indulge in role-play and often assumes different characters from various genres of entertainment including Batman and Don Draper. He has on ocassion gone too far in these roles which has threatened his friendship with Troy ("Contemporary Impressionists") and the rest of the study group ("Contemporary American Poultry"). Although he states his religion to be Muslim ("Comparative Religion") he doesn't follow the strict tenets of his faith, specifically regarding alcohol as he is seen drinking ("Mixology Certification") and even threw a keg party in his dorm room once ("Pascal's Triangle Revisited"). Although not often shown onscreen, Abed has been established as attractive to women, and generally sucessful with the opposite gender; girls often approach him ("Physical Education") and he has made out with the most attractive girl on campus ("The Art of Discourse"). Character history Season One Abed meets Jeff and later joins his fake Spanish study group thanks to an invitation from Britta. He in turn invited a number of other students from their class and the study group was born. Abed was enrolled in business and restaurant management classes to take over his fathers Falafel restaurant, despite his desire to take film classes and become a director. Britta convinced Abed to switch his major to film and even offered to pay his tuition after his father said he would not pay for anything other than business classes. Abed rapidly became well-known on campus for his movies as his short online films beacme very popular. His began to hang out Troy and by the end of the year they had become the best of friends. Significant episodes: : Season Two Abed's second year at school sees his friendship with Troy become even stronger. He suffers an emotional breakdown at Christmas, including disproving a teacher's theory on the TV show "Who's the Boss?", and assuming a Han Solo persona and helping to lead the Greendale student body against the City College's campus invasion during that year's paintball tournament. Significant episodes: Season Three Abed's third year at school sees him moving into an apartment with Troy and inviting Annie to stay with them as well. Despite his eccentricities it is hinted by a psychology test he took that he might be the sanest one on the study group. The general darkness of that year coupled with certain actions on his part that put a strain put on his relationship with Troy, made Abed retreat further into his fantasies via his special play room "The Dreamatorium". The study group's expulsion from school and the subsequent loss of Troy to the Greendale Air Conditioning Repair School was enough to cause him to assume the identity of "Evil Abed". Significant episodes: : Relationships in the study group Abed joined the study group to meet people and to learn Spanish. Although Abed is well-liked and accepted by the group he admits to being the outcast due to his inability to understand or properly express emotions. The observer of the group, he often sits quietly while everyone talks and argues, occasionally entering the conversation with a reference to a TV show or movie that is analogous to the situation. Abed become best friends with Troy Barnes and they are usually seen hanging out together and coming up with crazy ideas to put into action. 'Troy' (See main article: "Troy and Abed") Troy and Abed are best friends whose bromance has been prominently featured on the show. The other members of the study group are both amused and disturbed at how close the two are. Their many misadventures at Greendale inevitably drag their friends into hijinks and the entire school a few times as well. Because Abed is unable to adequately express emotion, and Troy is overly emotional, this has lead to a few conflicts between them. They soon make up, however, as they understand they are better together than apart. 'Jeff' Jeff and Abed were the first members of the study group to meet on camera (Abed had met and talked to Britta prior to his conversation with Jeff although it's not shown). As Abed is someone who has trouble understanding others he admires Jeff's ability to easily connect with people. Although Jeff is annoyed at times by his constant pop culture referencing, he respects Abed's opinions and often sees value in his observations. After a brief falling out happened between them, Jeff agreed to help Abed with his problem of connecting with others as long as Abed helps him try to treat them right. Both value their friendship with each other and Abed even created an elaborate deception one time to maintain it. 'Annie' (See main article: "Annie and Abed") Abed and Annie share a mostly fraternal dynamic and friendship marked by occasional forays into role-playing. Depending on what persona Abed assumes, Annie has been shown to be attracted to him. The two share a kiss during the second paintball tournament when Abed role plays as Han Solo and Annie assumes the part of his Princess Leia. For now, the attraction is mostly played up as a Running gags, and whether it's indicative of any deeper feelings between them is unclear. Regardless, the two still enjoy a solid friendship and even have a secret handshake. 'Britta' When it comes to Abed, Britta tends to take a more protective role towards him and worries about his obsession with pop-culture and inability to distinguish reality from fantasy. On several occasions he has had to reassure her he understands the difference. However, during the study group's third year at Greendale together that changed. He engages in more role playing in his newly created play room called The Dreamatorium and runs up a high tab hiring celebrity impersonators to take part in his activities. He eventually admits to having problems and needing therapy and asks Britta, who had declared psychology as her major, to help him. ''' Shirley Shirley, much like Britta, often treats Abed in a motherly way. Along with Jeff, she too gets annoyed by his childish antics and sometimes questions how close his close relationship to Troy really is. For the most part, Shirley tries to be tolerant of other religious beliefs of the study group including Abed. A running gag on the show sees her trying to convert the other members of the study group to her faith, she suggested that Abed be baptized once while he was in a catatonic state. One time she and Abed did manage to come to an understanding on their different beliefs when he filmed a religious viral video for her church . ("Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples"). Pierce Abed has the least interaction with Pierce in the study group. Pierce has a tendency to mispronounce Abed's name as "'''Ay-bed" and make racist comments about his heritage. Like the rest of the study group, Abed tolerates Pierce's comments and doesn't take them seriously. Pierce is often jealous of the close relationship Troy and Abed have and expresses disappointment that they won't let him in on their shenanigans. His envy of their friendship is a meta reference to the fact that originally Pierce and Troy were to be best friends in a "Beavis and Butthead" type capacity. In an alternate timeline, Abed calls him out over his jealousy which Pierce accidentally admits to ("Remedial Chaos Theory"). Other notable relationships Gubi Nadir Abed's relationship with his father , Gubi Nadir, has been strained since his mother left them both. He at first wanted Abed to take over the family Falafel restaurant business. This changed after he saw a video Abed produced about his own childhood. Gubi was moved so much by it that it made him realize his son had talent. He and Abed came to an understanding and Gubi agreed to pay for his classes, saying that he wanted Abed to do whatever he wanted if it helped people understand him. Gubi later returns for the school's "Family Day" BBQ and brought Abed's cousin Abbra with him. Appearances with Abed: "Introduction to Film", "Basic Genealogy" Agent Robin Vohlers During Abed's second year at Greendale, the Vice president was due to visit the Greendale College prompting a visit from the Secret Service to make sure the campus was safe. Abed immediately noticed thier covert surveillence of the school which brought him to the attention of Agent Vohlers. Despite finding no evidence that he was a threat, she continued to investigate him. Abed suggested she had romantic motives for her actions which she denied. They later had a "date" by watching a Kickpuncher movie in his dorm room, although she was viewing it while outside inside in a surveillence van. Appearances with Abed: (Intro to Political Science") '' Pavel Pavel is a Polish student at Greendale introduced in Abed's first year at school. Because of their shared Polish heritage (they often speak to each other in their native tongue) and the fact that they used to live next to each other in the school dormitory, they have become good friends. He has a laidback and easy-going disposition and is very accepting of Abed's quirks. He assisted Troy and Abed in the creation of their first blanket fort, Fluffy Town. Pavel, along with Garrett, is also seen assisting Abed as a member of his film crew in various episodes. ''Appearances with Abed: "Social Psychology", "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design", "Intro to Political Science" Toby the fanboy: TV Line reported that the British comedian Matt Lucas, best known for his work on the BBC sketch show "Little Britain", has been cast as a new friend of Abed's. They will meet at an "Inspector Spacetime" convention and his friendship with Abed will be something that puts a strain on Abed's bromance with Troy. Class history Quotes "Modern Warfare" "Remedial Chaos Theory" "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux" "Basic Lupine Urology" Trivia. * Abed's favorite movie is a tie between Ghostbusters, An American Werewolf in London, Back to The Future, Blade Runner, Stand By Me, Stripes, Star Wars IV through VI, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Jaws, Raising Arizona, Jurassic Park, Seven, The Matrix, Goonies, Breakfast Club, Real Genius, Better Off Dead, The Fog of War, and Pulp Fiction. * Abed often does movie spoofs, though he prefers the term homage. * Abed has trumped two professors' research thesis: He was the exception to Ian Duncan's Duncan Principle, and he disproved Professor Sheffield's analysis of the TV show "Who's the Boss?". Though in reference to the Duncan Principle, Ian Duncan thinks Abed is the exception, but the Duncan Principle is still in effect - it's just that the scientists fell for it before Abed (the test subject) did. * In the Community College Chronicles, Abed is played by Alan Bruder. * Unlike the other members of the study group, his age has never been directly stated. It is suggested that he is at least 21, since he was seemingly able to enter The Ballroom and buy drinks for himself during Troy's birthday party with no trouble. Category:Community Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Greendale Students Category:Troy and Abed Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Pairings Category:Abed Nadir